A sweet video of a woman reacting to her horse’s blanket trauma has touched animal lovers around the world. The compassionate way the horse owner interacts with her abused horse has people not only moved by her kindness but emotional about how the horse responds.
TikTokker @lugosthepalomino is trying to put a blanket on her horse Calavera, but he is signalling to her he doesn’t want to wear one.
Calavera’s human mom is thinking over what to do. The horse is having a trauma response and is trying to run away to his stall. She notices that his bottom lip is starting to quiver. She weighs over if it is safe to let him outside without a blanket in the weather or insist he wear it so he doesn’t lose weight. “Then I look at him and he’s not doing so well mentally,” she observes. “Deciding even if he loses weight his mental health means more.”
She captions the video, “Sometimes it’s best to just ‘give up.'”
@lugosthepalomino Sometimes it’s best to just “give up” #ottb #baythroughbred #trauma #abusedhorses #horse #palominothoroughbred #thoroughbred #equestrian #hearthorse #equinetok #omg #lgbtqequestrians #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #colorthoroughbred #dressage #horseriding #horsetraining #trot #rarehorse ♬ Let Me Down Slowly – Alec Benjamin
The moment she drops the blanket, Calavera gratefully leans into her for a hug and says “thank you.”
@lugosthepalomino said in a follow-up video, “I have noticed when he is too ‘far gone’ to get him to put a blanket on he starts to shake, his lip, head & necks, his eyes are far away and his energy isn’t in a good state.”
Others were impressed by how well she handled things.
“He set a boundary, he wasn’t nippy or aggressive about it at all and you listened, that’s a big trust builder for horses,” commented one viewer.
“OMG look how grateful he was when you dropped it,” noted another viewer.
Blanket trauma can come from a host of different reasons. Calavera, who is an experienced bay ottb (thoroughbred) hunter/jumper, was sadly abused.
@lugosthepalomino shared in a separate TikTok video that his blanket trauma comes from that abuse. She says that the blanket was forced on him and it was also left on him for months on end.
@lugosthepalomino Replying to @kittypanda927 there is more questions to be answered still please be patient while I make these videos, I am still in shock it went so big 🤩. Thank You so much for OVER 2mil!!!! Don’t worry, there will be more of Calavera posted, and dah baby Lugos of course! #ottb #baythroughbred #abusedhorses #horse #palominothoroughbred #thoroughbred #equestrian #hearthorse #equinetok #omg #lgbtqequestrians #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #colorthoroughbred #dressage #horseriding #horsetraining #trot #rarehorse ♬ QUARTER LIFE CRISIS – Taylor Bickett
She wrote, “Forcing it on jum-fighting, blinding him, hitting, threatening, yelling, backing him into a wall, holding him down. Leaving it on for months on end – not taking it off when the day time is warm enough for no blanket just because it will be cold at night.”
TikTok @lugosthepalomino
Other viewers shared similar knowledge of their experience with blanket trauma. One viewer said it is “usually because it’s just left on and never taken off; super super super sad.”
TikTokker They call me mama shared, “We got a rescue once that was beaten basically to learn to put the jacket on. It was so sad.”
Adri Rusk commented, “It can happen when people are too harsh putting them on. It goes over their head and neck, and there has to be a level of trust to put their head thru.”
Kayli M also said, “I know some horses that have this trauma from accidents with blankets such as it sliding off or getting stuck somewhere.”
As for why blankets prevent weight loss in horses, when the temperatures get cold a horse burns more energy to stay warm and therefore requires more feed to stay a certain weight. So blankets help regulate their temperature so they don’t need to burn as much energy. Not every climate means horses need to wear a blanket. And every horse is a bit different.
@lugosthepalomino Replying to @mackymouse29 #BonChevalCBD #horse #palominothoroughbred #thoroughbred #equestrian #hearthorse #equinetok #omg #lgbtqequestrians #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #colorthoroughbred #dressage #horseriding #horsetraining #trot #rarehorse ♬ Slow Beat – Dj Kampung
One horse owner in Indiana commented on, “Indiana owner here!! We have to blanket because it [temperatures] gets in the negatives. I tried one winter without blankets and my horses lost so much weight.”
Calavera doesn’t always reject wearing a blanket. When his human explained to him it was going to rain and snow and he could see that it was the purple blanket (which he seems to prefer) he thought it over and agreed.
@lugosthepalomino Replying to @lisalyn71 we’ve raised over 270$ for a new blanket for him!!!! 😭😭Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I’m going to be looking for a blanket for him tonight or tomorrow morning 😭. This is a sheet that was gotten for Lugos but he prefers his weighted blankets so Calavera uses it instead of the old red one he also doesn’t like. #horse #palominothoroughbred #thoroughbred #equestrian #hearthorse #equinetok #omg #lgbtqequestrians #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #colorthoroughbred #dressage #horseriding #horsetraining #trot #rarehorse ♬ Born To Be Yours – Kygo,Imagine Dragons
@lugosthepalomino has received an outpouring of support and got a bunch of new blankets from donations.
@lugosthepalomino Replying to @chitownnohra I can’t Thank You enough! Thank You all so so so much!!! For donating, sharing, liking, commenting and supporting us💛💛💛. His blankets should be here the 14th! I’m super excited to show you what they look like, I really like them💛. #horse #baythroughbred #abusedhorses #horse #thoroughbred #ottb #horseriding #riding #proud #equestrian #equinetok #horsetok #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #horse #palominothoroughbred #thoroughbred #equestrian #hearthorse #equinetok #omg #lgbtqequestrians #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #colorthoroughbred #dressage #horseriding #horsetraining #trot #rarehorse ♬ cardigan – Taylor Swift
She will now have a selection of weights and styles to suit her horses better and ones that Calavera may take a liking to better!
@lugosthepalomino Replying to @pizzandkittykats I hope this helps clear a few things up. #horse #palominothoroughbred #thoroughbred #equestrian #hearthorse #equinetok #omg #lgbtqequestrians #espanasilk #DACPOWERED #fyp #foryoupage #roachedmane #colorthoroughbred #dressage #horseriding #horsetraining #trot #rarehorse ♬ cardigan – Taylor Swift
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